The attorney for a 49-year-old Vermont man charged with killing a friend says his client is ready to accept responsibility for the shooting.

The attorney for Peter Lavalette made the comments Tuesday during a hearing in Vermont Superior Court in Newport.

Lavalette is charged with first-degree murder in the June 2013 shooting death of 61-year-old George Kouzoujian.

Lavalette was arrested after a traffic stop in Indiana, where he told police he'd killed a man in Vermont. He said he shot Kouzoujian because he had been brow-beating him and tapping him on the head with a hammer.

The Caledonian Record reports that Orleans County State's Attorney Alan Franklin needs more time to firm up the details of a plea deal.